Petr Yan fires back at Aljamain Sterling over his Unified Rules comment, suggesting he “try to win the fight without crawling on your knees.”<\/p>\n
Yan and Sterling fought back at UFC 259 in March for the UFC bantamweight title that Yan held at that time. Yan was in total control of the fight and seemed to be cruising towards a decision win when he made the mistake of landing an illegal knee to a downed opponent in the fourth round of the fight. Sterling was unable to continue due to the illegal shot and referee Mark Smith ruled the fight in favor of Sterling via DQ, handing him the belt. It was about as controversial of a moment as one can remember in a UFC title fight, as it was the first time in promotional history that a belt has changed hands as a result of a DQ.<\/p>\n
Yan and Sterling are expected to run it back sometime later this year or perhaps next year, or whenever Sterling is healthy enough to return following neck surgery. But even though these two can’t fight until Sterling is ready to go, they continue to trade shots with each other on social media, and it was no different on Friday when they went back and forth.<\/p>\n
After Sterling quipped that Yan should focus on the Unified Rules instead of looking at other opponents at 135lbs, the Russian<\/a> fired back at the champion for the way he won the belt.<\/p>\n Enter top 3 before even mentioning my name poodle. I got unfinished business with fakemaster now<\/p>\n — Petr \u201cNo Mercy\u201d Yan (@PetrYanUFC) June 18, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n